First Three Catamount Libraries Go Live on ByWater Solutions’ Koha Support

ByWater Solutions, an open source community contributor and America’s forefront provider of Koha support, announced today that Brooks Memorial, Springfield Town and Waterbury Public Libraries of the Catamount Library Network, a consortium sponsored and administered by the Vermont Department of Libraries, are now live on their installation of the Koha integrated library system.

ByWater Solutions completed the first phase of migrations for the Catamount Library Network earlier this year. ByWater will be providing implementation services for future libraries joining the Catamount Network, as well as ongoing Koha support and hosting services.

Martha Reid, Vermont State Librarian, commented on the progress of the project thus far:

“The Vermont Department of Libraries has been working with five public libraries during the design and pilot phase of the Catamount Library Network, which features a shared Koha catalog, patron initiated holds across the network, and agreed-upon cataloging rules and protocols to protect the integrity of the bibliographic database. Three libraries (Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro; Springfield Town Library; and Waterbury Public Library) were successfully migrated with the help of ByWater Solutions this summer and two more libraries (Rutland Free Library and Fletcher Memorial Library in Ludlow) will “go live” this month. After an in-depth review of both Koha and Evergreen open source systems, the Catamount Library Network selected the Koha platform with the vision in mind that Vermont might someday have a statewide shared Koha catalog. Many Vermont libraries already participate in the VOKAL Koha shared catalog, a project of the Green Mountain Library Consortium.”

Jerry Carbone, Director of the Brooks Memorial Library states:

“As one of the most active interlibrary loan public libraries in Vermont , Brooks Memorial Library is looking forward to more efficient resource sharing. I think the Catamount Library Network, as it grows, will make this possible.”

The mission of the Department of Libraries (VTLib) is to collect, organize, and disseminate information and library materials in a variety of formats to the three branches of State government, libraries statewide, the general public, and Vermonters with special needs; to support and strengthen local libraries; to foster new means for statewide cooperation and resource sharing among all types of libraries; and to increase public awareness of libraries and their services and to act as an advocate on their behalf.

Inherent in this mission is the Department’s advocacy of the right of Vermont citizens to read and have full access to information by ensuring that libraries and their resources are readily accessible to all Vermonters regardless of their geographic location, their level of income, access to technology or disability, and, as the official depository for Vermont state publications, the preservation of the record of Vermont state government for public scrutiny. For more information please visit: http://libraries.vermont.gov/

About Koha:

Koha is the first open-source Integrated Library System (ILS). In use worldwide, its development is steered by a growing community of libraries collaborating to achieve their technology goals. Koha’s impressive feature set continues to evolve and expand to meet the needs of its user base. It includes modules for circulation, cataloging, acquisitions, serials, reserves, patron management, branch relationships, and more.

Koha’s OPAC, circulation, management and self-checkout interfaces are all based on standards-compliant World Wide Web technologies–XHTML, CSS and Javascript–making Koha a truly platform-independent solution. Koha is distributed under the open-source General Public License (GPL). For more information about Koha, please visit: http://koha-community.org/

About ByWater Solutions:

ByWater Solutions is a full service, high quality support and implementation company dedicated to providing libraries with a lower cost, more advanced level of support for their ILS than a traditional proprietary solution can offer. ByWater Solutions has a proven track record in first rate Koha implementation and support with library systems of all sizes. Our highly ranked, comprehensive support is what sets our company apart from any other vendor in the industry. Partnering with ByWater Solutions to support Koha not only lowers the cost of implementing and maintaining an ILS, but more importantly empowers libraries by giving them the flexibility and freedom they deserve. For more information please visit: http://bywatersolutions.com/